Thursday, July 30, 2009

I was scheduled for a c-section at 11:30 on Saturday, July 25. We had to be at the hospital at 9:30. I think I slept all of about 2 hours the night before. Ben and I were up and ready to go by about 8:00! He kept saying "Come on, let's just go!" I was trying to explain that even if we got there an hour early, the surgery was still going to be at 11:30! We were both a little (ok a lot) nervous and excited. It was like two little kids getting ready to go to their very first birthday party! After dropping the dog off at the neighbors, we headed out. The check in at the hospital went very very smoothly. I wasn't nearly as nervous as I thought I would be. In fact, I even caught about a 10 minute cat nap! At about 11:20 the nurse came in and said that Dr. Sporre was ready for us. So, we headed on back to the operating room. Not before I took this picture though.

Our surgery nurse was wonderful and did a fantastic job of keeping Ben and I fairly calm until we were ready to head into the operating room. She explained exactly what would happen. And she took this wonderful picture.

We spoke briefly with the doctor and then they took me back to the operating room. Ben had to wait to come in until I had the spinal and was laid out on the table. Apparently lots of husbands can't handle seeing the needle. We tried to explain that Ben was pro and actually held me the last time I got my spinal, but he was totally ok with waiting outside. They got me up on the table and the anesthesiologist did the spinal. The only part that was really uncomfortable was the numbing medicine. He was really gentle and let me know before he did anything. Between him and the nurse, they talked me through it and I didn't even pass out this time! Once I was numb, they laid me down and Ben came in. I can't even begin to express how wonderful Ben was through the whole surgery. I know he was extremely nervous (even though he won't admit it) but he kept me very focused on him and not on what was going on. We had a fairly mundane conversation about nothing. I can't even remember what we talked about. I'm pretty sure it was about the weather! The anesthesiologist was wonderful too. He kept me informed about what was going on with out giving me all the gory details. Just enough to let me know that everything was going just fine. It seemed like it was taking FOREVER! In the meantime, Ben took a few pictures of me on the operating table, even though I told him not too. I look terrified don't I?

Then the anesthesiolist said, "You're going to hear a lot of suction, that's them breaking your water. Yup! There's the head! Wow! Lots of hair!" Pretty cool right? Well, I thought it was! Brinna Leah was born at 11:56 AM. She came out crying and didn't stop the whole time we were in the operating room. They did suction her lungs, which is totally normal for c-section babies. As soon as they made sure she was ok, Ben was able to go look at her. He was a little torn, should he stay with his wife or go see his new daughter. I insisted that he go see her and take lots of pictures! I couldn't see her at all and wanted to know what she looked like!

The first thing he said was "She looks just like Adelae!" Then he showed me this picture.

He's right, by the way, she does look just like Adelae! At this point, they handed Brinna to Ben and he was able to hold her the entire time we were in the operating room. I was finally able to get a nice long look at her.It took the doctor about 20 minutes to finish the surgery and I was wheeled into recovery. Brinna was able to stay with us the entire time. She was still crying away, exercising those little lungs. I decided to try to nurse her and see how she would do. Adelae was a tough one to nurse, so I was expecting to have problems. Brinna was born knowing how to nurse. She latched on like a champ and nursed for over an hour. She was a hungry little girl! Ben took a few pictures of us in the recovery room before he dashed off to make all the necessary phone calls.

I spent about an hour in the recovery room then they wheeled me back to my regular room (with little Brinna still nursing). My recover was so much smoother than with Adelae. I hardly had any bleeding at all and I was able to keep exhaustion at bay for quite some time. I did start to feel really really sick about 9:00 Saturday night. My nurse pointed out that I hadn't eaten anything in over 30 hours and I needed to get some food in me. I was only able to eat Jell-O, a popsicle, and drink some tea, but it made me feel 100x better.

Brinna didn't sleep much her first night. She constantly wanted to nurse and seemed to have her days and nights confused. She was most comfortable and calm when she was laying on my chest, but hospital policy states that you can't sleep in bed with your baby. At about 5:00 AM, I decided that rule didn't apply to me and I fell asleep with Brinna on my chest. We took a nice two hour nap and were refreshed and ready for the day! Sunday morning I was up and walking around a little bit. I was able to shower, get dressed, do my hair and put on a little makeup. I felt like a human being again!

Brinna remained with us in our room unless she was having the necessary newborn testing done. It was such a nice change from Adelae's birth. I was able to come home 48 hours after my surgery.

Brinna is a perfect little angel. She sleeps like a champ, eats like a champ, and cries like a champ! She sleeps almost all the way through the night, only waking once between 2:00 and 3:00 AM.

Ben and I are incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful little family. We couldn't be happier or prouder of our girls. Adelae is the greatest big sister and is a big help with the baby. She likes to make sure that Brinna is happy and warm.

These are only a few of the pictures that we took during our time at the hospital. As always, you can see them all at Our Happy Family .

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Here's a quick picture to tide you over until I can get the full birth story finished!

Brinna Leah was born at 11:56 AM on Saturday, July 25, 2009. She weighed a whopping 5 lbs 8.7 ozs and was and amazing 18 3/4" in length.

So far her favorite things are sleeping, nursing, being held, and her pacifier. Her dislikes are being put down, nursing for more than 10 minutes at a time, and having her diaper changed.

Adelae is doing really great. She loves her baby sister so much. Brinna is the first thing she asks for in the morning and the last person she kisses at night. If Brinna cries, Adelae immediately says "OH! Get her pacifier, get her pacifier!" and runs around looking for it. We're trying to adjust to life with a newborn and a toddler. So far, I think we're doing remarkably well. Ben is home until Monday, so he's taking on a lot of the housework, cooking and taking care of Adelae until he goes back to work. I'm recovering well from my surgery. I'm able to climb the steps and even sleep in my own bed! I'm still fairly sore and need to limit the amount of things I do around the house. I'm not allowed to lift anything more than 10lbs and I need to limit my stretching. This recovery has gone MUCH smoother than last time. I promise to get more pictures up as soon as I can.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Baby Brinna Leah Collins will be here! As I mentioned previously, I decided to go ahead and schedule a c-section. The wonderful nurses at my doctor's office convinced my OB that it would be best for everyone involved if we did the c-section ASAP. I was hoping for Thursday (today) and she was thinking Monday, so we compromised on Saturday. Brinna's official birthday will be July 25, 2009. HOORAY! Ben and I are beyond excited. I think Adelae is too. The other evening she told me "Mommy, you go hospital and have Baby Brinna now. I stay with Audrey." It is possible that she just wanted me out of the way so she could play. But, I prefer to think it's because she's excited about being a big sister. :) My surgery is scheduled for 11:30 am, but there is a real possibility that it could take place earlier in the morning. It all depends on how the surgery scheduled before mine goes. I will be in the hospital until Monday, at the earliest, and Tuesday, at the latest. Ben was able to take all of next week off work, so he'll be around to help. He's already graciously volunteered to change all the diapers! He really did! I didn't even ask! What a great daddy!

I will be internetless (is that a word?) while in the hospital. I keep trying to tell Ben that he should get me a laptop so I can Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Blog from the hospital, but he doesn't seem to think that's necessary. ;) Ben and I will both have our cell phones, so I'll make sure to call everyone as soon as I can. You can bet that if I don't call you, my dad or mom (depending on who you are) will! We'll be at Dupont Hospital in Fort Wayne, so if you're bored come and see us! We love visitors! And come see us at home too! I love visitors. I can't promise my house will be clean, that I'll be showered, or even awake, but we'd love to see you!!!!

Say a little prayer that everything goes smoothly and my recovery is quick and relatively painless. Say a little prayer for Brinna too! I don't expect any problems or complications, but it's comforting to know that God is watching over us.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Well, sort of a plan anyway. Let me fill you in... Just in case you don't know, or remember, I had some horrible issues with my blood pressure when I was pregnant with Adelae. It started when I was about 6 months and progressively got worse until I finally reached the pre-eclamptic and finally eclamptic stages. So, obviously, this time around, we've been keeping a very very close eye on my blood pressure. It's been great, up until the last few weeks. It's still not terribly high, but it's high enough that I've been on the rocks about what to do. My plan all along has been to attempt a VBAC, unless my blood pressure didn't cooperate. Well, now my blood pressure isn't cooperating. It's steadily on the rise and I'm feeling worse and worse. In order to avoid the horror of what happened with Adelae (emergency c-section after failed two day induction), I've opted to forget the VBAC and go with the c-section. It's been a really really hard decision for me to make. I've tossed and turned for well over a week wrestling with this decision. Part of me wants to hold out and hope that things don't get worse, and the other part of me just wants it all over with. I missed a lot of the very beginning of Adelae's life because I was so sick and on so much medicine. I don't remember the first time I held her or the first time I nursed her. In fact, I don't remember most of my time in the hospital. I just remember that I was completely and totally miserable. I'm very concerned that if I let things go, that will happen with this baby. So, I'm opting to take care of matters before they get bad. It's such a tough decision and, as I mentioned, I've wrestled with it for quite some time. The hope is to get a surgery date scheduled for as soon as possible. I'm past the 38 week mark, so baby is fully developed. I've been assured that there shouldn't be any complications on that end. In fact, if I had decided from the beginning to do a c-section, I'd most likely have a date some time this week. At this point, we're just waiting for the ok from the doctor (I've been seeing the Nurse Practitioner). I'm hoping that he will give his ok and we'll be holding our sweet little girl in a few days. In the meantime, please keep us in your prayers. Surgery is very scary and, while I know that I have fabulous doctors, there are always risks. Pray that all goes quickly and smoothly.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Ok, I'm pregnant..I get it! Seriously! I'm huge, I feel sick all the time, my ankles have completely disappeared, I can no longer take my rings off, I have the skin of a teenager, I'm grouchy and I don't sleep. Can you imagine how much fun I'm having? I'm going to give the rest of the non-pregnant world a little advice..please take it.

#1 When you ask someone when their due date is and the date is two weeks away..Please don't say "OOOOHHHH....you're getting close now" or "I bet you're excited!" My response is "REALLY?! I haven't been counting down the days for THREE months now. I had NO IDEA that it was so close!" (Please read with the adequate amount of sarcasm.) You should also not say "I bet you're ready to be done being pregnant." If you do, be prepared to hear "NO! I LOVE being pregnant! In fact, I wish I were and elephant and I could be pregnant for TWO WHOLE YEARS! Wouldn't that be NEAT?!" (Again, dripping in sarcasm."

#2 When you see a largely pregnant woman in the summer, please don't say "Oh, I bet you're miserable huh?" My answer "NO! I'm happy as a clam! In fact, I only WISH it would get HOTTER! Especially at night! I mean, who doesn't LOVE sweating nonstop?"

#3 When said pregnant woman states that she ready to have the baby NOW, please oh please oh please, do NOT say "Well, you haven't really dropped yet. You still have a LONG way to go." This may result in above pregnant woman punching you in the face. The proper response is "Maybe you'll have the baby today! Wouldn't that be fun?!" Of course, you must say this with the proper enthusiasm or you may get punched anyway.

#4 Calling pregnant woman cute little nicknames may SEEM like a good idea at the time, but I'll assure you..it's not. I get it, I'm fat.. I know I'm as big around as I am tall. BUT, and this is just a suggestion, maybe mentioning over and over and over again ISN'T the best thing. Just a thought...

#5 Almost anything you do and say is going to be interpreted wrong at this point. Acceptable things are "Let ME take care of the kid/kids for you!" "Can I bring you anything? Candy, ice cream, ice water, anything at all?" "Why YES OF COURSE I'll rub your sore back and feet. You just tell me when to stop, I could do this for HOURS!" "You're up every three hours to use the bathroom and can't get back to sleep? Why not wake me up, I bet we could have some great conversation! Maybe I could even rub your back and feet some more for you!"

Keep in mind I'm 38 weeks pregnant and not in my right mind. I can't be held responsible for my actions at this point. It's all justifiable somehow!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

I know it looks like I'm carrying high still, but I promise, she's actually dropped some! There was no progress at my check-up on Monday, but we're still a little early. On the bad side of things, my blood pressure is starting to creep into the danger zone again. We're hoping that it stays in the "safe" range (below 140) until at least 38.5 weeks. I'm really hoping to avoid a c-section this time around, so think LOW LOW LOW!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

This weekend is our annual Wannemacher Family Party. We started the tradition a few years ago and now it's one of my absolute favorite family gatherings. The original plan was to get all of my grandparents children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren together at a time other than Christmas. Somehow, the party has grown to include our gigantic extended family. It's so awesome! Slowly, it's becoming a tradition that people from out of town make the trip in to attend the party. This year some of my very favorite people will be here. My sister, Maria, her husband, Jon, and their FIVE kids (including my brand new niece Gabriella) will be here. As if that's not enough, my cousin Sascha and her husband are coming too! :) (They live in South Carolina). I look forward to the party every year. It's the one day I know I can kick back and relax. There are always enough people around to help keep an eye on Adelae, there's lots and lots of people to visit with, and more than enough food to keep me happy. In addition, when the sun goes down we have a fire and enjoy a few adult beverages. Of course, since I'm pregnant, I won't be enjoying the adult beverages this year, but I am so looking forward to everything else. Most of all, I can't WAIT to see my out of town family. So, all I wanna know is....IS IT SATURDAY YET?

Monday, July 13, 2009

I would NEVER let my daughter skip lunch and fill up on movie theater popcorn. NO WAY! I would certainly NEVER order said popcorn with extra butter. That would be so terribly unhealthy. What kind of a mom would do that? Certainly NOT ME! I know that!

I would NEVER tell my daughter she could ride the carousel, only to realize that I have no cash. When I realized that I didn't have any money, I would certainly NOT distract my daughter by taking her to the play area in the mall instead. And then when she asked about the carousel, I would certainly NOT tell her that it was broken. NOPE! NOT ME! (How much longer will that trick work, I wonder?)

I would certainly NEVER try to lift too much stuff and wind up wrenching my back so bad I could barely breath. And if I did that, I would certainly NOT convince myself (and everyone else) that I was having back labor. NOPE! I would NEVER send out a false alarm like that!

I would certainly NOT lay in bed on Sunday night thinking of all the things I could include in my Not Me! Monday post. That would be a little neurotic. I have much more important things to think about than that!

Want to read more Not Me! Monday? You can click on the button at the top of this post or head on over to My Charming Kids and join in the fun.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Kiddie pools are the best investments. Seriously! We had one last year and we LOVED it. The only problem, it was inflatable and with a cat and a dog, it didn't last very long. This year, I decided we were going to go a different route. I really wanted one of these but Ben disagreed. Something about the cost and upkeep, I didn't really listen. HA!

So, back I went to the internet. I knew I didn't want something that inflated. We have a dog who likes to chew and four cats. It seemed like inflatable was just asking for disaster. Finally, after much searching I found this one .

Of course, after we bought it, it rained for days and days and days. But, since then we've been using it almost daily. Let me tell you, it's the best $20.00 we've ever spent! It's big enough we can all get in at the same time.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

This weeks Small Talk Six topic is "6 things you think would be great about being a rockstar (or just famous in general)" How fun!!!!!

1. I would be crazy talented! I've always wanted to be able to sing. At certain points in my life, I've actually deluded myself into thinking I can sing. My husband is very gracious and constantly reassures me that I can't sing. AT ALL! In fact, he's even asked me to STOP singing on several occasions. If I were a rockstar, I'd make him listen to me sing morning, noon, and night.

2. Getting lots of really cool stuff for free! I always hear that celebs get crazy amounts of free stuff. (Which makes no sense to me, especially since they can afford to buy it.) I want free designer clothes, hand bags, shoes, beauty products, and jewelry! Bring it on!

3. Having a makeup artist, hair stylist and wardrobe consultant around 24/7. I would hate always HAVING to look my best, but it would be a lot easier if I had people to do all the work for me! I would sit in a chair and proclaim "Make be gorgeous!" Granted, that may take awhile, but I'm confident the end result would be well worth it!

4. Traveling! I've never been able to travel. It would be so cool to see other countries and parts of America.

5. Famous friends. If I were a true rockstar, I would make it a point to befriend all my rockstar idols. Just think, Steven Tyler on my speed dial?! Totally kick ass!

6. Having people around to do all the stuff I don't want to do. I would NEVER do another dish, vacuum another floor, wash, dry, or fold another piece of laundry or cook another meal...AHhhhhhhhh..........sorry....I blissed out there for a second! :)

Wanna participate in Small Talk Six? Click on the button in my sidebar or head on over to MomDot. Don't forget to check out everyone else's Small Talk Six too!

Friday, July 10, 2009

I have been dying to take some pictures of Adelae in the corn field by our house. I think they are SO cute! This little photo shoot was impromptu, which means that her hair is a mess and she's not exactly wearing what I had imagined. However, I think they still turned out really well! I tried my hand at some editing too. I don't I'll be doing it for a living, but it was sort of fun.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Ahh...Not Me! Monday time again! Time to confess to all those dirty little secrets!

I certainly am NOT one of those moms that thinks her kid should go to bed clean. So, I most definitely did NOT put my daughter to bed covered in chocolate, sand, juice and who knows what else. I also did NOT put her in MY bed that night. Nope! NOT ME!

I also would NEVER EVER let my 2 1/2 year old fill up on nothing but junk food at the 4th of July cook out. NOPE! I would NEVER send her off with a plate of food and just hope she ate some of it. NEVER!

I would NEVER put off doing laundry until I absolutely had no clean underwear. NOPE! This would NOT result in me being unable to shower until approximately 3:00 in the afternoon. Then I would NEVER type my Not Me! Monday wearing only a towel. NO WAY would I EVER do that!

I would NEVER even THINK of offering to pay my husband to do the dishes. NOPE! And my husband would NEVER take the offer and then actually demand payment. And upon demand of payment, I would NEVER sneak his wallet off the counter and pay him with his own money. NO WAY! I am WAY to honest for that! I can't even IMAGINE doing something so sneaky!

Think Not Me! Monday sounds like fun? Head on over to MckMama's blog and check it out!